Editing Schultz Gang (section)

==Formation and expansion==
Schultz grew out of Bronx bootlegging and street-crime circles during Prohibition. Later histories describe his organization as expanding from beer and protection rackets into policy gambling and other operations, although they do not establish a single charter date or a complete founding roster.<ref name="Asbury">Herbert Asbury, [https://archive.org/details/the-gangs-of-new-york-herbert-asbury ''The Gangs of New York''] (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928).</ref><ref name="Fried">Albert Fried, [https://archive.org/details/fried-albert-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-jewish-gangster-in-america ''The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America''] (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980; revised edition 1993).</ref>

The gang's operations were built around Schultz's personal authority and a group of trusted managers and associates. Bo Weinberg was an early prominent associate, while Otto Berman was associated with the organization's accounting and strategic advice.<ref name="Fried" /> These documented relationships do not by themselves establish a fixed rank system for every associate.